Best Places In The World To Retire

It is safe to drink the water in Cayo District / San Ignacio, Belize area but a lot people prefer not to because it has a significant amount of chlorine in it. Some people still drink tap water. I do and I have never gotten sick. I grew up drinking straight from the tap and I never had any problem. I have lived in Belize since I was one year old. 
 
Generally, the expats and tourists who come here do not get sick when they drink the water.

 

A lot of the...

It is safe to drink the water in Cayo District / San Ignacio, Belize area but a lot people prefer not to because it has a significant amount of chlorine in it. Some people still drink tap water. I do and I have never gotten sick. I grew up drinking straight from the tap and I never had any problem. I have lived in Belize since I was one year old. 
 
Generally, the expats and tourists who come here do not get sick when they drink the water.

 

A lot of the people who come here do not drink the water out of the tap any more since a dam on the river was built. The rumor is that it’s not safe to drink the water from it because there is mercury in the water. But it was never proven that there is mercury in the water.
 
Normally, if you ask for water in a restaurant in San Ignacio, they will give you purified water. The vegetables and fruits that are served are usually washed in tap water but it’s never been a problem. 

 

(Pictured: river running through Cayo District, Belize.)

The best places in Nicaragua to live and retire depends on whether you want a beach community or if you want to be around expats.

 

The most popular places in Nicaragua for expats to live or retire are Granada and San Juan del Sur.

 

Leon and Managua are also becoming more popular now, especially since people are starting businesses there.

If you want to be around a lot of expats, you'd probably like Granada best, because...

The best places in Nicaragua to live and retire depends on whether you want a beach community or if you want to be around expats.

 

The most popular places in Nicaragua for expats to live or retire are Granada and San Juan del Sur.

 

Leon and Managua are also becoming more popular now, especially since people are starting businesses there.

If you want to be around a lot of expats, you'd probably like Granada best, because of its large expat community. Granada is this lovely little town with colonial buildings that are very physically appealing.

Whether or not you are satisfied with your decision after one year, two years, three years, four years, five years, and so on. You really have to know yourself and you really have to know the community in which you are going to choose to live in order to ensure that you’re in it for either the long term or enough time that made the effort worth it. Maybe it’s not permanent. You could decide to stay for only three to five years but the point is to choose the right location so...

Whether or not you are satisfied with your decision after one year, two years, three years, four years, five years, and so on. You really have to know yourself and you really have to know the community in which you are going to choose to live in order to ensure that you’re in it for either the long term or enough time that made the effort worth it. Maybe it’s not permanent. You could decide to stay for only three to five years but the point is to choose the right location so you feel that you are able to achieve that goal that you have for yourself.
 
In order to make that happen, it is best to spend time reading up on the different cultural dynamics, hearing stories from other expats, and actually spending time in two to three locations probably for three weeks to a month, or maybe more. It is nice to really get into a rhythm before making that choice to move. I think it would be rather naïve, and most likely, a catastrophic mistake to show up and buy a place after being there for only three to four days. You can have a feeling that this place feels right after a few days but you really need to test that feeling out and that means doing your due diligence by spending three weeks to a month there. Make new friends in the area and try to figure out what part of the town you could imagine yourself living in. You have to figure out what your routine might be if you lived in that certain place. Going through that testing phase, I think, is a requirement in order to make sure that the decision you are going to make is based on sound judgment.

Care is needed when deciding whether to drink the water on Bastimentos, or anywhere around the Bocas del Toro archipelago.

 

It will depend very much on where you are, as many places rely on rainwater collection, and you can't really be too sure of the state of the pipes and tanks.

 

Ask your host, but in general I'd suggest sticking to bottled water in most places.

 

If you are renting or living in one place for...

Care is needed when deciding whether to drink the water on Bastimentos, or anywhere around the Bocas del Toro archipelago.

 

It will depend very much on where you are, as many places rely on rainwater collection, and you can't really be too sure of the state of the pipes and tanks.

 

Ask your host, but in general I'd suggest sticking to bottled water in most places.

 

If you are renting or living in one place for any length of time you can buy drinking water in five gallon bottles. There is a $10 deposit on the bottle, and you take it back to the store when it's empty and swap it for a full one.

 

This is much cheaper than buying water in small bottles, and you are producing no waste either, which is always a good thing.
 

You can buy a small pump that sits in the top of the bottle to dispense water, or a holder that you sit the big bottle into upside down, then access the water by a little tap.